| Raven |
|---|
The Basics
Raven is a character with both fundamentally strong tools and tricky specialised options. He lacks generic tools like generic df1, df2, or d4 and also lacks a 15f launcher, but his unique tools more than make up for the standard ones he's missing.
The Neutral
In neutral Raven has good pokes, good movement, and good whiff punishers and on the approach, or after plus frames or a knockdown, Raven's "shadow step" crouch dash (more on this later) gives him access to strong counter hit launchers to force respect and damaging and snowballing mixups to open up blocking opponents. Out of punishment, succesful pokes, plus on block moves, and mental frames from unfinished strings and cancels, Raven can enter soulzone or backturn stance for additional pressure and mixups.
The Defense
On defense, Raven has some gaps in his standing punishment but has strong options at 12 and 14 frames. From crouch, Raven has an ok 11f punish and a premium 14f launcher. Raven also has access to a special escape parry with b1+3/b2+4 that activates on frame one, works in backturn, and teleports away from any attack except rage art (including lows, elbows, grabs, etc). He also has sabakis, a backturn attack reversal, a very evasive but unsafe backswing blow, and strong powercrushes both from standing and backturn.
In Heat
In heat, Raven's shadowclone strings get powered up, which basically means he gets access to knockdown, wallsplatting mids that do chunks of chip damage and are only -3 on block. Whenever they do get blocked, Raven loses heat time but whenever they hit, heat time is restored. Raven's fullcrouch power low sweep and while standing 3,2 launcher also benefit from this heat mechanic, so both options from the full crouch mixup restore heat time on hit and the ws 3,2 becomes a safe on block launcher. In addition to all of that, Raven gets access to an extension on his while running 3 - while running 3,4 - which makes it a plus +7 on block into back turn chip damaging mid launcher.